2019 Ram Heavy Duty Debuts with Class-leading Everything
New Ram Heavy Duty features familial exterior design, a plush cabin and class-leading power and capabilities.
This morning during the opening media day of the 2019 North American International Auto Show in Detroit, FCA rolled out the next generation of the Ram Heavy Duty lineup and there is some big news with these big trucks. The Ram 2500 and 3500 powered by the new 6.7-liter high output Cummins turbo diesel engine will deliver 400 horsepower and a whopping 1,000 lb-ft of torque.
That’s right, the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty trucks are the first American production vehicle to offer 1,000 lb-ft of torque and as you might expect, having more power than any other truck yields better capabilities than any other truck. When properly equipped with the various towing packages and such, the new Ram HD can tow up to 35,100 pounds and haul 7,680 pounds, both of which top the segment, but this is far more than just a high-powered work truck.
Like the all-new Ram 1500 that debuted at last year’s Detroit Auto Show, the new Heavy Duty models introduce a new look, a range of cabin layouts that include premium options and a broad span of trim levels that go from gritty work trucks to premium luxury-haulers.
2019 Heavy Duty Power
The 2019 Ram 2500 and 3500 will be offered with three different engines; a 6.4-liter Hemi V8, a 6.7-liter Cummins diesel and a 6.7-liter Cummins High Output diesel.
The 6.4-liter gasoline engine is standard equipment, with class-leading numbers of 410 horsepower and 429 lb-ft of torque. That power is sent towards the wheels by means of a new TorqueFlite 8HP75 8-speed automatic transmission and either an electronic or manual Borg Warner transfer case.
Next, the first optional engine is the “regular” 6.7-liter Cummins turbo diesel inline-six-cylinder mill, delivering 370 horsepower and 850 lb-ft of torque with help from an upgraded 68RFE 6-speed automatic transmission. This engine comes with the same transfer case options as the gas engine.
Finally, the king of the hill for the entire heavy duty truck world as of today is the Ram HD’s new 6.7-liter Cummins high output turbo diesel. With help from an Aisin AS69RC 6-speed automatic transmission, this engine yields more power than any other truck sold in America, packing 400 horsepower and 1,000 lb-ft of torque. This engine comes with an all-new Borg Warner transfer case (BW 44-48) that has been specially designed to handle the extreme torque and loads that these trucks will face.
Heavy Duty Dampers and Stoppers
The 2019 Ram Heavy Duty comes with new Frequency Response Damping shocks behind all four wheels, with the 2500 models featuring the exclusive five-link coil design while the 3500 has Hotchkiss rear leaf-spring system. Like their half-ton trucks, all of the new Ram HD trucks can be upgraded to ride on the brand’s class-exclusive Active-Level rear air suspension system, combining functionality and ride quality like no other big trucks sold in the American market.
It should be noted that the key advantage with the available air suspension package in the new Ram HD is that you can get a smoother, more comfortable ride without compromising functionality. In many cases, trucks built to carry the weight levels discussed here ride like old busses, but the new Ram HD should offer a smoother ride than any of the competitors. Mind you, those competitors can’t haul or tow as much weight, while also riding rougher.
Also, since the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty can tow and haul more weight than the outgoing trucks, the team made sure that their new pickups can stop with all of that weight out back. To do so, they beefed-up the braking system, adding new calipers, a new brake booster system and a new master cylinder.
A Familiar Face
As you can see in the pictures here, the 2019 Ram Heavy Duty lineup shares the overall design language with the 1500 and that means that the crosshair is now completely gone from the brand’s lineup. There are six different grille options for the 2500 and 3500, but none of them have the crosshair design. Some traditionalists are going to be outraged by that, but we knew that this was coming and it is here. If you put aside your rage over the fact that the Dodge crosshair grille is gone, the new Ram HD looks pretty terrific.
Like the 1500, the new 2500 and 3500 have slim headlights flanking a huge grille with the “RAM” logo sprawled across the middle, although it should be noted that the light duty and heavy duty trucks don’t share any components. The drop-fender design continues on, with the aluminum hood rising up in tiers to create a very muscular look. The model and engine callout are found on the side of the hood rather than on the doors, and while there is new sculpting along the sides, there is nothing revolutionary about the side profile of these new trucks aside of an array of new wheel choices. Ram will offer six new wheel options with an 8-lug design, ranging from 17- to 20-inches in diameter, and in the right configurations, the RamBox storage system is available.
Out back, the Ram HD features a new aluminum tailgate that wears a huge, chiseled rendition of the brand’s newest crest between LED taillights.
Overall, the Ram 2500 and 3500 for 2019 has a similar look to that of the 1500 on sale today, but we think that big, bold lines might fit the bigger trucks even better than they do on the half-ton.
2019 Ram Heavy Duty Debuts with Class-leading Everything continued…
